I am not very techy, but I am slowly battling through the hubitat and loving it.
The issue I have is that I am using some light automations, which are triggered by the sonoff zigbee motion sensors ( ohla labs driver ).
Unfortunately, the motion only triggers the automation randomly - around 80% of the time ( events spaced well apart, so cool off time is not an issue ).
I am using 2 sensors, the same issues with both - but generally not at the same time.
To be more specific, when motion is detected I can visibly see the red light flash on the sensor, but nothing happens.
I live in a 3 storey house with a hub on the bottom floor, but have Ikea Tradfri plugs on each floor to help with the signal. In addition to this I have other mains wired devices such as light controllers etc. ( I believe they repeat signal too? )
My question is, how do I even begin diagnosing the issue? ( I haven't changed the batteries, but Hubitat indicates 100% + there is the flash on the sensor so I am not sure if it is a battery issue? )
Not sure about Sonoff, but Hue motion sensors only flash red when they can’t reach the hub. I would try pulling the battery for a few seconds and see if it finds a better repeater to connect with. Of note, Zigbee devices need repeaters every 10-20 feet to maintain a strong mesh. Unless you have repeaters in every room, and near the hub as well, this is likely just a symptom of a weak mesh. Also, not all repeaters are created equal. Some can only route for a few devices, while others may route as many as 20.
@Ken_Fraleigh Thanks for the reply.
I think the red flash is just the way these sensor operate - they will flash whenever there is motion.... sometimes the light will trigger, sometimes it won't.
I've also tried the pulling the battery ( and even bending the contacts slightly as I've seen mentioned on another thread )
Would I be able to check the logs ( or anything else ) to get a better idea of what could be the issue? I am confused because I am not experiencing any drop offs with any other devices.
Go to settings/Zigbee Details/Zigbee logging. This will show real time zigbee radio communication and signal strength. Then walk around and trigger things.
You can also go to 192.168.xxx.xxx/hub/zigbee/getChildAndRouteInfo (put your HE address in though)
Sounds like all you know for sure is that the sensor is supposed to turn a light via some automation (app), but that isn't working reliably. It could be the sensor, it could be the app, or it could be the device you're trying to control. I'd start by checking the "Events" history for the sensor to see if reports active/inactive at that time. Given the red light flash on the sensor, it does seem that it is at least detecting your motion and the battery isn't totally dead (a weak battery or poor mesh can still cause problems with these, though)--but that doesn't mean it made it to the hub.
I'd also enable logging for your app and check "Logs" (live or past, depending on whether you have the page open at the time, which will give you an idea of what the app thinks it did (or not). If that all looks good, then maybe you're dealing with a problem on the device you're trying to control.
The doc above can help you figure out how to do some of these things if you're not sure, otherwise someone here will likely also help if you share a bit more information.
Note that this driver is no longer maintained, and Hubitat now offers a built-in driver that works with them, "Generic Zigbee Motion Sensor (no temp)." This isn't necessarily the problem, but it's certainly something to keep in mind.
@Ken_Fraleigh Thanks again, this is what I got (tells me absolutely nothing).
I am assuming that the neighbor table entry indicates devices connected directly to the hub, whilst route table entry are the "piggy backs"? Not sure how to interpret the readings, other than what is connected via what - which seems odd anyway because according to the table, the devices seem to be connected totally randomly with not much consideration to the physical distance between the repeaters etc. ( On paper, there are repeaters much closer than the ones the devices are connected to )
I've enabled the logs, so will see what shows there.
I also don't think it is an issue with the devices I am trying to control ( lights / switches ) as I can operate them via the dashboard and device page - although there could be more to it that I am not considering?
The fun part:
I've changed the driver ( thanks for the tip ) :
Sensor 1:
Sensor 2:
As you can see from the screenshots, sensor 2 seems to think that it also is a water sensor?
Possibly; you said it works about 80% of the time, so if it's an issue with the lights, you could just be not testing during the 20% of the time when it doesn't. A weak mesh can cause things to work sometimes but not others. (But I'd still start by looking at the sensor since lots of Sonoff Zigbee devices are reported to need a particularly strong mesh to work well...certainly not saying it can't be the light, though.)
Me too. Did you choose "Motion" or "Moisture" as the driver? They're right next to each other or look similar from what I recall, because I know I've done this before...
Also, something you might want to do in between switching away from this driver and to the new driver is to temporarily switch to the driver called "Device" and run some commands that might clean up some things this driver sets that the other doesn't need:
Delete Scheduled Jobs (this is one you'll need to do to avoid a periodic error in the new driver)
Delete All States (I think the old driver stores some things in here the new one won't need but should be harmless to keep)
Delete All Current States (if you want to clear all attributes/values under "Current States," though any that the new driver doesn't use should disappear on their own)
Then, switch to the "Generic Zigbee Motion Sensor (no temp)" driver again.
This, because after using the ohlalabs driver you will have errors in the logs forever if you don’t do this before configuring the new driver. Personal experience with Sonoff contact sensors.
In my experience, the Sonoff motion sensors are not very reliable. Some are solid, and others will sometimes not report motion and sometimes report motion when there is actually none. I have not found a solution for this other than swapping the sensor for another, or accepting the issue.
So far so good, but I'll keep an eye on it.
I've got some new batteries ready too, but didn't want to change them in case the driver / re adding the sensors might have fixed it.
If the issue continues, I'll change the batteries and take it from there.
On a side note, I know this has been discussed on the forum a million times but it's either old or not for the UK market - what are the best budget motion sensors out there please?
Did you choose "Motion" or "Moisture" as the driver? They're right next to each other or look similar from what I recall, because I know I've done this before...
